He said: “If three years ago, when we were second from bottom in the Championship you had said to the supporters we would be on nine points after 13 games in the Premier League and playing Man United, rather than getting relegated, they would probably have taken that.

“That’s where we’re at and let’s have a sense of realism here as a club. What we have done in the last three years is pretty incredible.

“Would I say we have punched above our weight financially and in terms of the size of this club? Yes, without a doubt. And we have to keep doing that and find another way of getting results and winning.

“I think we have a younger generation of supporter that have seen nothing but success in the last 10 years so their view might be different.

“You have an older generation who know historically where the club has come from and they might have a different view. But all fans are entitled to their own opinions and thoughts. That’s what makes football what it is.”

Regardless of how Reading perform this year, the 2012/13 campaign will go down as the third best in the club’s history. But that will be of little consolation to a large number of fans expecting Royals to consolidate their top-flight status and build for the future.

However, McDermott warned there is no massive war chest waiting to be spent should Reading still be in the relegation zone during the January transfer window.

He said: “I don’t know how much is available. There won’t be a fortune available here and I don’t want to give fans any false hopes because it wouldn’t be right.”